‘Hey, Humpty! Have you read ‘Revelation’?
‘You mean Sansom’s novel? It’s a good read.’
‘No, I mean the last book of the Bible.’ Humpty looked puzzled.
I pondered. We like a bit of panache. Somebody who is good at what he does is admirable. But somebody who is good at what he does and is doing it with a flourish is more than admirable. There is something different about him. He flies. He soars. He makes us applaud.
And now we are talking about the panache of the Bible. We are talking about the last book, ‘Revelation’. What, you may ask, has panache got to do with apocalyptic? Simply this. We get the word ‘panache’ from the plume, or bundle of feathers that graced the headgear of a medieval knight. It is an extra. It is not a lance or a sword or any other part of his equipment that has a military purpose. It streams in the wind and calls attention to the wearer.
Something very similar is found on a square-rigged three-master. The figure-head is not there on the prow to be another bowsprit or to frighten the enemy. It is purely decorative. It suggests that the ship is something more than a vehicle. It is a ‘she’. It has a life of its own. Like a panache it is a touch of exuberance.
We lay a table for our guests and may well bring out a centre-piece. It we are very formal it may be an epergne. More likely it will be a modest flower or two in a vase that does not get in the way of serving-spoons and the like. Like a figure-head this has a purely decorative function.
What is true of all these items is true of the last book of the Bible. ‘Revelation’ is a flourish. It is not a prime source of Christian belief. It is an extra. Luther is not the only one to have had his doubts about including the document in the canon, i.e. the accepted list of foundation documents of the Christian faith. ‘Revelation’ celebrates but does not define the deity. It displays his sublime nature. It inculcates awe. It dares its reader to consider the undefinable.
‘I tell you what,’ said Humpty. ‘The more I read it, the less I understand it. It gives me the collywobbles.’
‘Perhaps that’s what it’s meant to do,’ I suggested.
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